Modelling the Dissociation Dynamics and Threshold Photoelectron Spectra of Small Halogenated Molecules

Jonelle Harvey's thesis outlines two related experimental techniques which are utilised to investigate small halogenated molecules: threshold photoelectron spectroscopy and threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence techniques. All the experiments were conducted at the vacuum ultraviolet beamline of the Swiss Light Source, which is a synchrotron photon source offering easy tunability. In this thesis, three studies are presented which combine experimental and computational ab initio approaches. The first study involves the fast dissociation of halogenated methanes in order to construct a self-consistent thermochemical network. The second study investigates the fragmentations of fluoroethenes from timebombs, which break apart very slowly but explosively, to fast dissociators. The third study uncovers how vital conical interactions underpin both the results of photoelectron spectra and dissociation patterns.The details included in this work are useful for researchers in the same field as well as those readers wishing to obtain a solid introduction into the types of systems encountered in threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy.

Autorentext
Jonelle Harvey completed her PhD in 2013. This was a joint project between the University of Birmingham and the Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland. She is now a research fellow of the University of Birmingham and is engaged in another successful collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute.

Zusammenfassung
Jonelle Harvey's book outlines two related experimental techniques, threshold photoelectron spectroscopy and threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence techniques, which are utilised to investigate small halogenated molecules. All the experiments were conducted at the vacuum ultraviolet beamline of the Swiss Light Source, a synchrotron photon source, which has the advantage over popular laser photon-sources of extreme ease of tunability. Three studies are presented which combine experimental and computational ab initio approaches: studying the fast dissociations of halogenated methanes in order to construct a self-consistent thermochemical network; investigating the fragmentations of fluoroethenes from timebombs, which break apart very slowly but explosively, to fast dissociators; and uncovering how vital conical interactions underpin both the results of photoelectron spectra and dissociation patterns. The details included in this thesis are useful for researchers working in the same field and those readers wishing to obtain a solid introduction into the types of systems encountered in threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy.

Inhalt

From the Contents: Introduction.- Measuring the photoelectron signal.- The study of ionic dissociations.- Thermochemistry.- Experimental.- The synchrotron radiation source.- The endstation.- Capturing the electron signal.- The experimental results.- Theory.- Computational methods.- Modelling.